Tuesday, July 29, 2008

DIE BERLINALE


Berlin - a cosmopolitan, exciting capital, a city of culture with international appeal. In the middle of it all: the Berlinale – not only the city’s largest cultural event, but also one of the most important dates on the international film industry’s calendar

Founded in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978. With 230,000 tickets sold and over 430,000 admissions it is considered the largest publicly-attended film festival worldwide.Up to 400 films are shown in several sections, representing a comprehensive array of the cinematic world. Around twenty films competing for the awards called the Golden and Silver Bears.

More than 19,000 film professionals from 120 countries, including 4,000 journalists, are accredited for the Berlin International Film Festival every year. The Berlinale is truly a mega event. At the same time, it is a festival of encounters and discussions. With more than 200,000 tickets sold, the Berlinale is not only a film industry meeting. It also enjoys by far the largest audience of any film festival in the world. For two weeks, art, glamour, parties and business meet at the Berlinale.

Artists from around the world are attracted to Berlin and many consider Berlin the unofficial capital of German film. It is home to a rich cinema scene and a diverse, discerning public. Last but not least, Berlin has captured the imagination of countless filmmakers. Over and over again, the city has served as the backdrop for great silver screen productions, often becoming itself the secret protagonist of the movie. Think “film” and “Berlin” is bound to spring to mind. For two weeks every year Berlin is totally enraptured by the Berlinale.

Once again, the Berlinale is getting ready for a summer tour: film lovers in Berlin, Cologne and Düsseldorf will have the opportunity to watch a selection from this year's festival programme under wide open summer skies. The "Summer Berlinale" will kick off in Berlin, hosted for the sixth time by the Friedrichshain Open Air Cinema (July 17 -20). Like last year, Berlinale films will subsequently be presented in Cologne in the old velodrome, while in Düsseldorf the event will be hosted by Open Air Cinema "Vier Linden". If you would like to be part of this incredible event , check out apartments in Berlin.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Life in Berlin


Some call it wild, colorful, and full of surprises, while others find it a little too hectic and gruff. Berlin is intriguing because it is so versatile and so multi-faceted. Differences are more extreme, conflicts more tangible, and problems larger than they are elsewhere. Yet even Berlin’s contradictions are part of its appeal.

Berlin’s historic city center is located east of Pariser Platz and Brandenburg Gate around the avenue Unter den Linden, and extends across Gendarmenmarkt to the waterfront areas of the Nicolaiviertel and the Fischerinsel. The western city center is concentrated around the boulevard Kurfürstendamm, the Gedächtniskirche (Memorial Church), and Tauentzienstrasse. There are also a number of borough “centers”; these all have a character of their own and play a major role in the way Berliners identify with their neighborhoods.

An entirely new shopping, cultural, and residential quarter has emerged at Potsdamer Platz. This is an excellent place to begin a stroll through the government, parliament, and embassy district, past the Reichstag building, and up to elegant Friedrichstrasse.

According to many who’ve tried it, Berlin is addictive. The city offers residents and visitors alike an almost inexhaustible variety of possible activities – from a multitude of everyday options to huge events like Christopher Street Day and the Carnival of Cultures.

Don’t forget the cafés, bars, and restaurants in every price category, featuring international and local specialties. The neighborhood around Hackescher Markt is especially popular in this regard, while an impression of Berlin would be incomplete without a trip to the districts of Friedrichshain, Prenzlauer Berg or Kreuzberg. The city’s night life tempts visitors with countless bars, discos, and clubs – which can stay open all night if they like – and with exhibitions and open-air events. Here, too, in the middle of the latest international trends, you can feel the city’s exceptional vitality and dynamism. Berlin is an ideal place for a dialogue between cultures: more than 460,000 non-German citizens live here. They come from 185 different countries and ensure great cultural pluralism. Their decisive contribution to the city’s distinctive and cosmopolitan character is apparent not only during the annual Carnival of Cultures. Berlin became a city of immigration earlier than other parts of Germany. Ethnic and cultural diversity enrich the city, but also require special skills and make new demands on society as a whole. The Senate Commissioner for Integration and Migration has been an indispensable source of information for many years for people seeking advice and assistance. It is also an important contact for issues related to integration and the work done on the state, federal, and EU level to combat discrimination.

Forests, parks, and garden plots – a total of more than 2,500 public recreational and green spaces – make Berlin a green city. Anyone taking a walk on a warm summer evening through the forest in Grunewald, strolling through the gardens of Charlottenburg Palace, may well forget that this is a city of almost 3.4 million.

If you would like to see all this things and live it like a ¨berliner¨ then have a look at apartments in Berlin

Monday, July 21, 2008

BERLIIIIIN !!!!


Berlin is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Berlin is the largest city in Germany and has a population of 4.3 million within its metropolitan area and 3.4 million within the city limits. Berlin is best known for its historical associations as the German capital, for its lively nightlife, for its many cafes, clubs, and bars, and for its numerous museums, palaces, and other sites of historic interest. Berlin's architecture is quite varied: though badly damaged in the final years of World War II, Berlin has reconstructed itself greatly, and it is now possible to see representatives of many different historic periods in a short time within the compact city center, from a few surviving medieval buildings near Alexanderplatz, to the ultramodern glass and steel structures in Potsdamer Platz.If you would like to enjoy all of this check out apartments in Berlin

Monday, July 14, 2008

BCN and SPORTS


Barcelona has always been a city that lives and breathes sport. Today, and thanks in large part to the holding of the Olympic Games, a quarter of the city's population now regularly do some type of sport and have included physical exercise in their habitual activities. The people of Barcelona have seized the city's public spaces, squares, parks and new beaches and turned them into focal points of sports activities.

The City Council promotes and stimulates sport at all levels - from amateur to professional, from school to retirement, from 'fun runs' to summer activities - building and remodelling facilities, equipping districts and educational centres. Facilitating access for everyone to a healthier lifestyle through physical exercise. Consolidating Barcelona's international role as a city of Sport.

The city is making an effort to invest sport in everydays life, last year for example the bicing was created ( bicicles in the city ), it is possible to do every kind of some sport from Kung-fu to windsurfing using the great beaches near Villa Olimpica. If you want to enjoy the city AND get fit at the same time, click here : apartments in Barcelona

Friday, July 11, 2008

Barcelona and the beach : A love story


Since the Olympic games in 1992 and the massive clean-up operation of the beach and nearby Olympic marina .

The area has become a magnet for Barcelonans and visitors alike.

In the order if you are coming from the center, you can find :

Barceloneta : old fisher village, half rehabilitated and getting more and more fashion but still very popular and simple.

Then San Sebastian, Nova Icaria ( after Villa Olimpica ) , Bogatell and Mar Bella are more visited by locals then the first beaches and at the end you even have a nudist beach ( selva de mar ).


So if you're in search of cleaner waters and more space, hop a train for a short trip out of town.

You can drive up to the north or to the south using the train ( www.renfe.es )
In the south, the first beach of any note is Casteldefells - five kilometers of wide unbroken sand within 15 minutes' train ride from town.

On the way to Sitges, you can find Garraf aswell and of course Sitges quite touristy but preserved , it’s a well gay resort with relaxed atmosphere.

Just along the coast is the lesser-known Vilanova, a mainly family beach favored by locals


To the north, most of the beaches suffer from the presence of the badly planned coastal highway. It's best to keep going past the beaches of Badalona and Mongat until the electricity plants of Fecsa at San Adria are out of sight. Get off at Ocata, just after Masnou.

Further up the line is Caldes d'Estrach. The village is pretty and it's probably the least distance you have to travel to escape the urban sprawl of Barcelona.

so if you want to check out the beaches , have a look at Apartments Barcelona


Thursday, July 10, 2008

1º Encierro Sanfermines 2008 [Cuatro]

How does San Fermin looks like ? Check it out !!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

SPAIN DID IT !!!!!!!!!!


The Eurocup 2008 was thrilling and exciting, We didnt think we could make it until the end. Great game and great players…

Fernando Torres scored in the 33rd minute and the Spanish team never backed down against such a formidable opponent.

In beating a team that makes a habit of appearing in championship finals, the Spanish team put to rest a reputation for underachieving. Always loaded with talented players, Spain has spent four decades falling short of expectations.

That all changed at these Euros, where we swept the first-round games, eliminated World Cup champion Italy in a penalty-kicks shootout in the quarterfinals, then routed Russia 3-0 in the semifinals.

Against the highly accomplished Germans, they weren't intimidated. They got the one goal they needed -- from a slumping striker, no less -- and set off chants of "ES-PANA," and "Ole, Ole Ole" at the final whistle.

Luis Aragonés and his triumphant players were cheered by huge crowds lined either side of their open-top bus route from Barajas airport to the Plaza de Colón. Here the party began in earnest, as the squad took to the stage set up for them and delighted the adoring masses by grabbing the microphone, singing and joking. The coach described his side, Spain's first European champions since 1964, as "the best team in the world".

An important part of the Eurocup was aswell the ¨against racism¨ slogan; Unite Against Racism.
The two semi-finals were taking place under the Unite Against Racism campaign organised by the Football Against Racism in Europe network with UEFA's backing, and with the support of the players' union. UEFA President Michel Platini has welcomed the activities. "The Unite Against Racism campaign serves to demonstrate our respect for diversity," Mr Platini said. "We're determined to ensure that major footballing events like the EURO are played in an environment of harmony and respect."

Now enjoy the country from the champions by checking out apartments in one of the greatest city of Spain : apartments Barcelona and enjoy the great goal Vid !!

Germany vs. Spain (0-1) Full Goal Highlights 29.06.2008

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Antoni Gaudi




Antoni Plàcid Guillem Gaudí i Cornet (1852-1926) – was catalan architect who belonged to the Modernist style (Art Nouveau) movement and was famous for his unique style and highly individualistic forms.

In 1868, he decided to study architecture in Barcelona, in a college dominated by neo-classical and romantic trends. Thus, his first architectural production swung between a reinterpretation of historical canons with oriental influence and the recovery of medieval events.

Despite his youth he received the first assignments from the ecclesiastic world and the bourgeoisie, who would always be his main clients. Among these, the Association of Devotees of Saint Joseph stands out as they commissioned him with the Expiatory Temple of the Sagrada Familia (the cathedral of the modern Barcelona). Of equal importance was the industrialist Eusebi Güell, the best client and essential patron, who entrusted him with the construction of a palace, the church for an industrial colony, some pavilions for his summer residence and a city-garden, the very known Parc Güell.

Gaudí's first works were designed in the style of gothic architecture and traditional Spanish architectural modes, but he soon developed his own distinct sculptural style. French architect Eugene Viollet-Leduc , who promoted an evolved form of gothic architecture, proved a major influence on Gaudí. But the student surpassed the master architect and contrived highly original designs – irregular and fantastically intricate. Some of his greatest works, most notably La Sagrada Família, have an almost hallucinatory power.

Gaudí, throughout his life, studied nature's angles and curves and incorporated them into his designs. Instead of relying on geometric shapes, he mimicked the way men stand upright.

Because of his rheumatism, the artist observed a strict vegetarian diet, used homeopathic drug therapy, underwent water therapy, and hiked regularly. Long walks, besides suppressing his rheumatism, further allowed him to experience nature.

Gaudí loved for his work to be created by nature as he used concrete leaves and vine windows to create his ideas for him, so his work is not just because of him but because of nature as well.

After his death in 1926, the international movement recuperated his figure while presenting him as an example of modernisation and renewal of 20th century architecture.

If you wish to admire all his work, check out apartments in Barcelona.


 
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